Lindsey Doolittle is an artist whose work gently tackles the stigma of suicide...

Peggy Nichols
37 minutes ago
3 min read

'Wife', ink on paper, 10 x 8 inches.

Faces After Suicide Exhibition

'In 2015, my late husband, Sgt. Brett Dolittle of the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department, died by suicide. I found him at our home.

This exhibition was created in the aftermath.'

Faces After Suicide confronts the silence, shame and stigma that often surround suicide. While all grief is deeply personal and difficult, suiside loss often carries an added burden of stigma.

Survivors may face blame, judgement, or silence from others, which can intensify their isolation.

Relatives, friends and communities may not konw what to say, say nothing at all or even shun the survivors, blaming them for the suicide. As a result, many survivors are left to grieve in isolation. Much of society still wrongly characterizes those who die by suicide as selfish, weak or sinful; and condemns them after death.

This exhibition challenges the silence and shame. By making this experience visible, it creates a space for connection, empathy and public acknowledgement. It invites others to show up, listen and help break the cultural habit of blaming and turning away.

The exhibition includes:

A growing collection of blind-contour ink portraits of suicide loss suvivors, drawn during support group meetings. Each Drawing is titled by the survivor's relationship to the person they lost, to help preserve anonymity.
A wall of handwritten letters from loss suvivors to those they've lost to suicide. Visitors are invited to contribute their own.
A table of global suicide prevention and post-vention resources, free for the visitor to take.

By amplifying survivor voices, Faces After Suicide invite us to engage with uncomfortable truths, challenge assumptions and support one another. It lives above the rug, so nothing has to stay hidden beneath it.

Learn more at: https://www.abovetherug.com

'Son', ink on paper, 12 x 9 inches.

left to right: 'Sister', ink on paper, 10 x 8 inches.,

'Two Sons', ink on paper, 12 x 9 inches., 'Husband', ink on paper,

10 x 8 inches.

'Father', ink on paper, 12 x 9 inches.

left to right: 'Husband/Wife', ink on paper, 12 x 9 inches.,

'Father-in-Law', ink on paper, 8 x 10 inches., 'Son', ink on paper,

10 x 8 inches.

'Best Friend', ink on paper, 10 x 8 inches.

left to right: 'Son-in Law',ink on paper, 8 x 10 inches.,

'Grandson', ink on paper, 10 x 8 inches., 'Husband', ink on paper,

10 x 8 inches.

'Partner', ink on paper, 10 x 8 inches.

Doolittle is a Kansas City–based artist whose exhibition

Faces After Suicide emerged from the aftermath of her late husband’s suicide in 2015.

An award-winning filmmaker, she created a children’s animation based on her published book about suicide loss, now on permanent display at the Vincent van Gogh Library in Nuenen, Netherlands. Doolittle directed a short documentary about her exhibition

Faces After Suicide that has earned international recognition.

She’s currently producing a documentary about Recovering from Religion, the global nonprofit she volunteers with to support those navigating religious trauma and de-conversion.

Doolittle also teaches elementary art and facilitates suicide bereavement support groups through Recovering from Religion, for those who find religion unhelpful in their grief journey.

Her work, rooted in both compassion and advocacy, refuses to sweep things under the rug. More at https://www.abovetherug.com